Arkansas, Eat My Dust
by PruneMousse
Summary: Agent Arkansas, recruited into Project Freelancer after being retired from the UNSC for a few years.
1. Prologue: Welcome to the Jungle

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN RED VS BLUE OR ITS CHARACTERS, IT'S OWNED BY ROOSTER TEETH. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS MY OC, AGENT ARKANSAS.**

**I'm familiar to , but I nuked my previous stories as they were cringey. This story I had on my Wattpad account, but I thought more people would see it on FF.**

**There is a Christmas chapter I made for Christmas, but since it was nuked as well, it'll go in this story not on Christmas.**

**This is a full story, and it's all finished, but there will be another later on. The reason these chapters don't have end cards is because they had things related to what happened while writing them.**

"Agent Arkansas, first known as DW Pvt. 343, was a Marine during the Human-Covenant War. After three years, he had been promoted numerous times, until he was captain of his own Elite Marine Unit, Charlie-43. After another two years, he met The Director, who recruited him into Project Freelancer. At least that's what his file says between the giant splotches of black ink." Carolina said, talking to the others, who were sitting in the cafeteria eating their food. The only Freelancers currently there were Carolina, York, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

"What do you mean?" North asked, turning to her.

"His file has been heavily redacted, I had to sneak in to get it." She said, still looking at the folder.

"What armour does he wear?" York asked, getting up from the table. She showed him a photo of Arkansas' armour. Mark VI helmet, CQB chest plate, and EVA shoulder plates. His colour scheme was a White primary and an Aqua secondary. He had two Gold detail strips on his right arm and leg. She showed the picture to the others, and they all nodded.

**(Arkansas' POV)**

I put on my helmet, and went outside of my room, walking to the training room. The Director gave me a schedule to remember each day. First is either breakfast or free time, then there's proper training with other Freelancers. After that, a mission or more training, followed by training until sleeping hours. I got to the training area and looked up around me to see a glass viewing area. There were a few others in it, some Freelancers, and some regular soldiers.

I guess they wanted to see the recruit in action. Green holographic circles appeared. I started punching them, my movements flowing.

**(Third Person POV)**

"Damn, he's good." York said, everyone watching in astonishment.

"Not just good, he's got the form down, and the power." York said again, chuckling lightly.

"You're being pretty quiet Carolina." South said, turning around towards her.

"It's called observing, South." She replied, continuing to watch Arkansas. He'd punched the last circle, and F.I.L.S.S announced the time.

"That round took 8.98 seconds, you are near Agent Carolina's best time of 8.64 seconds." She said, and everyone was taken aback by this.

"Well, well, well, it looks like there's a new competitor." Wyoming remarked, and Carolina turned to him, a very stern death stare put into his direction. They looked back to the training area, and saw Arkansas walk out of the training area.

**(Arkansas' POV)**

As I walked out, I saw The Director across the way.

"Agent Arkansas, you won't need to leave, I have instructed Agent York to meet you down here." He said, and I nodded, going back into the training area. After a minute or two, York entered.

"Round 1, begin." F.I.L.S.S said, and I slowly made my way to York. He threw the first punch, but I blocked it, parrying the attack. He was very aggressive with his punches, meaning he would have less time to defend. I punched him in the arm, near the armpit. He grunted in pain and swung his arm aimlessly. I ducked down and swept his leg. I got back up, and then narrowly dodged another attack. I grabbed his arm, and punched him in the elbow, pushing it into dislocation.

"Argh." He grunted, punching it back and wincing. I kicked him in the chest, propelling him to the ground.

"Round complete, point awarded to Arkansas. Now preparing Bujil Stick scenario, Agent Maine to the training room floor." F.I.L.S.S said, and three soldiers came in, two with Bujil sticks, and one to tend to York. Behind them was a Freelancer with and EVA helmet, who grabbed the sticks from the soldiers. He threw one to me, and I caught it, flourishing it and getting into position. They did the same, and we waited for F.I.L.S.S.

"Round 2, begin." She said, and Maine charged at me. I readied to defend, but he stopped at the last second to change his attack. I didn't expect this and got hit in the face in return. I stumbled a bit but regained my balance. I went on the defence, blocking all the hits coming towards me.

I found an opening in his attacks, and smacked him in the leg, then my attacks went up his armour, until I smashed the stick into his visor. It sent him stumbling away, and he looked back. Even though I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was pissed. He charged at me, and I knew he wasn't going to hold back, so I charged at him. He wound his Bujil stick back, as did I.

He brought it forward, but I slid under it, bringing my arm forward. As I got back up, I saw Maine was face first on the hard training room floor.

"Round complete, point awarded to Arkansas. Now preparing Lockdown Paint scenario, Agent's Wyoming and North Dakota to the training room floor." F.I.L.S.S said. Lots of panels came up out of the floor, and one on each side had weapons. I saw three soldiers and two other Freelancers enter. One was all white, and the other was purple with a bit of green as their accents. They went to their side, and I stayed at mine. I grabbed a pistol and loaded it with the paint pellets.

"Final round begin." F.I.L.S.S said, and I went straight for a pillar. As I was huddled behind it, I listened for the others. I heard two sets of footsteps from both sides and waited until the right moment. I jumped over the pillar just as they were turning the corner, moving just out of their Field of View.

"Wha-?" The white one said as I shot him in the back of the head, then dodged a volley of incoming shots from the purple one. I started shooting at him but missed because I was rolling away. I lunged at him, grabbing his arm without the gun. We pointed our guns at each other, and fired, but both weapons produced a click sound.

"Well this is awkward." He said, and I chuckled, letting go of his arm and grabbing one of his mags. I spun around him, loading it into my pistol, and cocking the round in. I shot him in the head, and the pillars went down. After a few minutes, the Lockdown paint wore off, and the other two's armour softened up. I saw the doors open, and Agent Carolina walked out. All three of us looked at each other.

"Good luck." The purple one said, and I laughed.

"Thanks." I replied, looking back to Carolina, who was walking to the middle.

"Let's see just how good you are." She said, getting ready for hand to hand. I did as well, and knew not to mess around, since she was the best. She wasn't going to attack first, so I moved slowly towards her, just as I did with York. I threw the first punch, but she dodged and kicked me forward. I turned around back to her, and chuckled. She tried hitting me with a few light attacks, which weren't hard, but were very fast. I could barely keep up with them. I decided enough was enough, and ducked away, launching my fist at her back.

When I hit her, the force of it pushed her to the ground. She got back up, and turned to me, growling.

"Oh shit." I said, bringing my arms up ready to defend. She launched at me, pinning me to the ground and punching me in the face repeatedly. She was punching me so hard the glass of my visor was cracking. This angered me, as I had just got this new armour, and I kicked her off me, rolling onto her, now in the opposite position. I punched her in the face hard enough that her helmet flew off. I winded up another punch, until I saw who was under the helmet. I got off her, walking to the doors of the training room.

"Hey, where are you going?" She asked, but I didn't answer, making my way to my quarters. However, when I passed the cafeteria, I saw the other Freelancers there.

"It's Arkansas, he's alive." One of them said, and I chuckled, walking over there.

"I think now we know you aren't dead we should introduce ourselves. I'm York, that's Wyoming, North, South, and Maine." He said, and they all nodded except South.

"So, we were watching, why didn't you knock out Carolina?" York asked. I didn't answer for at least five seconds.

"Why would I?" I asked back, and he chuckled.

"Because she cracked your visor." He answered, and I slowly nodded.

"Fair point." I said, a few of them chuckling. I sat down, next to York.

"Sorry about your arm." I apologised, and he put his hand up.

"It's alright, I'm fine. It's a part of training." He said, and I was slightly shocked.

"That's a first." I said, getting back up. I saw Carolina at the door and sighed, trying to walk past her.

"Leaving so soon?" She asked, and I pushed past her. I walked to my quarters again, and this time, no-one was going to stop me. I started walking faster, so I could be alone. As I got to my quarters, I was about to enter the room.

"Ark, what's wrong?" Someone asked, and I turned to the voice to see North. Ark was actually an alright nickname.

"It's nothing." I said, unlocking the door to my room.

"No, it's not, as soon as you saw Carolina, you wanted to get out as quick as you could." He said, and I let out a frustrated sigh.

"I said, it's nothing." I replied. He chuckled, walking up to me.

"Sure, it is." He said, playfully nudging me and walked off. I went into my room, and took off my armour, lying down on the bed.


	2. Chapter 1: Proving Grounds

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN RED VS BLUE OR ITS CHARACTERS, IT'S OWNED BY ROOSTER TEETH. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS MY OC, AGENT ARKANSAS.**

I woke up, grabbed my armour, and went to the showers. It's been three weeks since I got here, and I've fit in well. While I was standing in the shower, I put my hands in front of my face, bringing them down slowly.

**(Flashback)**

Me and my squad were in New Mombasa, and we saw the Covenant Supercarrier jump into slip-space. It knocked several small pods away, and they spiralled towards the ground.

"Helljumper Drop Pods, we need to get there and help them, fast." I said, grabbing my AR from my back, and cocked it. We ran to the closest pod's rough location. I peered around a corner, and saw a few Brutes, that were fighting with Elites.

"They must not be the best of friends." My sniper specialist, Arron said. I chuckled and motioned for him to give me his binoculars. He did so, and I looked through, observing how many there were. I saw a pink light and zoomed in to see a Sniper Jackal. It had its rifle pointed right at me.

"Shit, they've spotted us." I said, and quickly got back into cover just as the Jackal shot. I closed my eyes and brought my gun up to my chest.

**(Present)**

I opened my eyes, and immediately got out of the shower, putting on my armour, and walking to the cafeteria. I saw a few Freelancers walking in the same direction I was, ones I haven't seen before. One of them punched the other in the gut, hard. They doubled over in pain, and I ran to them.

"Are you alright?" I asked, and he nodded faintly.

"I'm fine." He replied, obviously winded. I looked to the others, who had turned around.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked them, and they started walking towards me.

"He took my place on the board, even though he didn't deserve it." They said, and I just looked at them.

"Is your ego that big you can't handle someone being better than you at something?" I asked, and they curled a hand into a fist, hitting it into his open palm aggressively, ready to fight. I started chuckling.

"Someone doesn't like constructive criticism." I said, and they got closer to me.

"Do you want to throw down?" He asked, and I nodded, headbutting him. He fell to the floor, and his friend threw a punch, but I grabbed his fist.

"I wouldn't get involved." I said, letting go. He walked to his friend and picked him up.

"You haven't seen the last of me Wash." They said, talking to the Freelancer who just got up.

"Thanks." He said, bringing out his hand for a handshake. I shook it, and smiled, even though he couldn't see my expression.

"No problem, I'm Agent Arkansas." I said, and he stepped back a bit.

"You're Arkansas, the one who showed up and mopped the floor of Maine, Wyoming, York and North Dakota?" He asked, and I chuckled.

"In the flesh." I replied.

"Again, thanks for helping me." He said again.

"Again, no problem." I said. Suddenly, F.I.L.S.S came through the ship's intercom.

"Agent's North and South Dakota to the briefing room. Agent's Washington, Connecticut, New Mexico and Kentucky to hangar 43-L. Agent Arkansas and Squad Foxtrot-86 to hangar 43-R" She said, and Wash sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and he looked to me.

"Kentucky is the one who punched me in the stomach." He said, and I sighed as well, patting him on the back.

"Don't worry, just tell him Arkansas says hello." I said, and he chuckled.

"Will do, let's go." He said as we started running to the hangars, in a sort of mini race. We ran past soldiers, who were going to their respected posts. I nearly ran into one and stumbled. I could see Wash running and laughing, and I sped up. Running past, him, I chuckled.

"Gotta blast." I said, taking off.

"What the hell?" Wash exclaimed, and I started laughing. I've never had this much fun since the UNSC. I got to the hangars and was only the slightest bit exhausted. Wash caught up and brought his hand up for a high five. I returned the gesture and turned to the pelican I had to go on. I saw a group of soldiers, with distinct markings for their roles. I walked up to them and they looked over to me.

"Alright, you're Foxtrot-86?" I asked, and they nodded. The leader of their group sat up and introduced the team.

"There's Quail, our sniper, Spry, our scout, Nails, the demolitions expert, Antic, the tactician, and then there's me, Chase, the leader." He said, and I nodded.

"Alright, let's load up. I assume you know the mission, because I wasn't briefed about it." I said, and Chase shook his head.

"The pilot will brief us, then Antic will tell us how we're going to ." He replied, and I looked to Antic, who nodded.

"Don't worry, I've only failed this team at least, twenty times." He joked, and I chuckled.

"I'm filled with confidence." I joked back, walking up to him and sitting down. Antic had brought up a holographic layout of the facility we had to attack. The pilot walked up and started to brief us.

"Alright, this base is one of two that could possibly have secret files important to The Director. The other is where North and South Dakota are currently going. They will be doing a stealth mission, while we'll be going in guns blazing because The Director wants to show the Insurrection what we're capable of." She said, and we all nodded, except for Antic, who was in deep thought. He put the hologram away, and we all went into the pelican. The pilot warmed up the engines, and Antic reopened the hologram.

"I think if we drop here, we have a clear shot for the main server room. However, there's at least over fifty insurrectionists on that facility." He said, stroking his chin.

"Maybe we could have the pilot open the troop door and have Quail snipe some from here. She'll have to stay out of the Anti-Air's range though, can you snipe from that far?" I asked Quail, and he nodded.

"You clearly underestimate me." He said, cocking his sniper rifle.

"We're 5 miles from the drop zone." The pilot said. I got up out of my seat and went to the cockpit.

"After we've been dropped, I need you to stay a bit further away, as Quail will be sniping them from afar." I said, and she nodded.

"I can shut down the engines on an ice cliff, where he can do that." She suggested, and I patted the back of the seat.

"Alright, it's a plan, get ready." I said, to everyone, even myself. We all started loading our weapons and waited until the pilot gave us the go ahead. I had a Battle Rifle, Two Magnums, and two SMG's.

"Go, go, go." She said, and the door opened. We all jumped out, except for Quail, who lied down on the floor of the pelican. We landed, and I looked around at the enemies, who had surrounded us. The pelican flew away, but we heard the Anti-air shoot a missile. It was hot on the tail of the pelican. The missile wouldn't let up, and we all knew it would hit the pelican.

We watched as it made contact, and our escape vessel went spiralling towards the icy cliff it had intended to land on, eventually detonating.

**(Flashback)**

I saw a pelican crashing down towards the Brutes, and once it did crash, roars and screams were heard.

"Well that took care of the-" Arron would have said if it weren't for the Beam Rifle shot that went through his skull. I looked around and saw that dreaded pink light.

"Everyone, scatter!" I ordered, leaping out of cover. As I got into new cover, I saw a blue light, a Plasma grenade. It exploded, and knocked me away,

**(Present)**

I shook my head and looked back at the armada around us.

"Alright guys let's fuck them up!" Chase yelled, firing at the enemies. We all did the same, the entire base filled with the sound of gunfire. I moved to Spry and nudged him while still shooting.

"Let's try and find the files." I said, and he nodded, running for a ledge in front of us, that had a walkway below it. I followed him, shooting at the insurrectionists while I was running. I checked the ammo on my rifle, and saw it was nearly out. As soon as it did, I put it on my back, and flipped over the ledge, bringing out my SMG's. I fired blindly at all directions and saw a door Spry was about to enter. He waited for me, and we entered. He went to the main computer and started looking for the file.

"Why don't they have a folder named 'Top Secret Shit', it'd be a lot easier for everyone." He said, and I chuckled, looking at the door just in case anyone was coming in.

"Can't you just upload a virus to the mainframe?" I asked, and he stopped, looking at me.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." He said, turning back to the computer. After at least five minutes, he'd found nothing. I nodded, and tapped the side of my helmet, signalling to any secure radio lines.

"This is Freelancer Agent Arkansas, Squad Foxtrot-86 and I are pinned down and don't have any evac. This is a distress signal, someone, anyone, please, respond." I said, and three seconds later, someone answered.

"This is 479r, I'm currently evading two Longsword jets, when I'm free I'll come pick you and the other squad up. Where's your position, so I can get there quickly?" They asked, and I sighed.

"I don't know, we don't have flares or anything. Hang on, I'll be just a second." I said, holding the comm chat.

"Spry, can you detonate a part of the outpost?" I asked, and he smiled.

"Why yes I can

"I'll be there in 10 Arkansas." She said, ending the chat. I looked to Spry, who nodded.

"Just tell me when." He said, and I nodded back, looking for a way to the nearest turret.

**(Chase's POV)**

We had taken out at least half, but they kept on coming. The first fifty were the defence team. They had surrounded us, but there were over a hundred this time.

"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" The leader yelled, and we did so, putting down our weapons. They still had their weapons on us, and we waited. We heard a chaingun firing, and I winced as I heard it. After it finished, I heard a voice I didn't expect to hear.

"Hey Innies!" Agent Arkansas said, and I opened my eyes to see him on top of the main building, holding a turret behind his neck.

**(Ark's POV)**

I put my hand to my helmet again, patching into Spry's comm.

"Now." I said, and I stepped back, running to jump down towards the insurrectionists, a huge explosion rocking the outpost. As I was falling, I started shooting, keeping the barrel away from Chase and his squad. I soon realised the recoil drastically decreased my descent. I then let go, standing on top of the chaingun. pushing off it with my legs, the gun landed hard onto the metal walkway. I landed over it, nearly giving myself a vasectomy with the barrel. I pulled out my Magnums and started shooting at the Insurrectionists.

"Alright, let's really fuck them up this time!" Chase yelled, like before, as the song reached its first verse. As we slaughtered all of them, I could see a pelican flying to us.

"479r, kind of you to join us." I said, as I blindly shot an insurrectionist.

"You might want to get in here quick, The Director's going to shell the entire facility." She said bluntly.

"Everyone, in that pelican." I ordered, as I sprinted towards it. I could see the Mother of Invention peak into view. However, I heard someone grunt to my right, and looked to see and injured Chase. I ran to him, but he put his hand up.

"Go, leave me. I don't want to be responsible for a Freelancer's death." He said, and I slowly nodded, running back towards the pelican. I got in, seeing North, South, and Carolina inside. The only spot left was next to Carolina, because of course it was. I sat down next to her, and 479r quickly launched the engines. I felt a slight pressure on my shoulder and turned to see Carolina had placed her hand on it.

"You alright?" She asked, and I nodded, not talking. I heard a huge explosion and winced lightly. Of course, the first mission, I lost almost the entire squad.

"You get anything from there Arkansas?" 479r asked, and I shook my head.

"No, there was nothing on that computer, did North and South get anything?" I asked back, and saw Both Carolina and North stare at South, who held up a Hard Drive.

"Yes, but we had to go loud because someone wouldn't set their damn trackers." North said, and South scoffed.

"You should have been looking out for me." She retorted, and North looked at her quizzically.

"I told you the smoke was messing with my thermals. You were too busy caring about the time." He said, and South was trying to think of another retort. She huffed and sat back in her seat. The door opened, and when we got out, North, South Carolina and I went to the briefing room. Walking there was interesting, because no-one stopped to say hi to Carolina, South or North. It was just an endless repeat of.

"Hey Ark." That. I could tell everyone was getting pissed and I had an idea.

"To anyone who wants to say hi, don't. It's getting pretty annoying." I said, and I heard three sighs.

"Thank you." North, South, and Carolina said at the same time.

"You are welcome." I answered. We entered the briefing room, and The Director turned, smiling.

**Well, next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2: Back In Black

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN RED VS BLUE OR ITS CHARACTERS, IT'S OWNED BY ROOSTER TEETH. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS MY OC, AGENT ARKANSAS.**

I was in the locker room, looking through my locker. I saw a note, it was from Wash.

"Have you checked the leader board lately?" It said, and I realised I hadn't been taking any notice. I looked to the one that was in the locker room, and saw Wash was number 6, ahead of South while I was number 2, above Maine. That was probably due to the mission. I smiled, happy for Wash, and went to the classroom for a book I need. On the way, I saw Wash and North talking, running in my direction.

"Hey, Ark, what's up?" North asked, and I waited for them to catch up.

"Just going to the classroom for the AI Theory book, since we might be getting some soon." I said, slightly excited.

"Well, we're going to the observation deck, there's a new agent in town." North said again, and I nodded.

"Alright, I'm down." I said, following them. There were lots of soldiers running the same way we were. They all sprinted past us, as we walked to the Freelancer Observation Room. We entered through the door, and saw Carolina, South and a brown Freelancer with EOD armour. As I looked down at the training room, I saw the new Freelancer smack York, Wyoming, and Maine away to the floor.

"Damn, they're good." I said, and South nodded.

"That's the new recruit." She replied, and Wash shrugged.

"He doesn't move like he's a recruit." He said, and South just looked at him.

"Why do you assume it's a guy, she's a girl." She said, and I chuckled.

"Yeah Wash, assuming someone's gender, even though we can't tell what they are from here, how dare you." I joked, and South growled.

"Shut it." She said, and I laughed.

"Sorry mum." I said, earning a few chuckles and a smack in the head.

"Shut, up!" She yelled, and I snickered, crossing my arms.

"You're the one yelling." I said quietly, and she gave me the best death stare I've ever received.

"If you won't be quiet, you'll be going to the morgue." She said, and I scoffed.

"You're no fun." I said, and she just growled again, louder this time.

"Just shut the fuck up." She said, and I laughed, turning back to the fight. The Freelancer was on the third round already, Lock-down paint. She was on top of a pillar, and the others were looking around for her. She jumped down and shot at them. The ensuing fight was spectacular, as bursts of pink paint flew across the arena. After just twenty seconds of fighting, she had won.

"Point awarded to Agent Texas." F.I.L.S.S said, and a heard Carolina give a questioning grunt.

"I thought that name was reserved." She said.

**(Little Timeskip)**

After at least five minutes, Texas had mopped the floor with them. She was fed up and looked at the observation room glass.

"This is very fucking boring, are these the best we have." She taunted, knowing there would be a response. Carolina walked to the door and turned to me.

"Get down there Ark." She said, and I nodded.

"Aye, aye captain." I said, running for the training room. Once the doors opened, I saw York, Wyoming and Maine stretching.

"Good luck." Wyoming said, and I chuckled.

"Thanks." I replied, as he gave me his pistol. York and Maine stayed, and we waited until F.I.L.S.S called for the beginning of the round.

"Round 8, begin." She said, and I waited behind a pillar. I turned to York, who went around the corner.

"I'm guessing you don't like teamwork." I said, and turned over to Maine, who wasn't moving at all. I rolled around the corner to another pillar. I heard a few shots, but nothing else. When I peaked my head around, a pink light went right past me. My eyes went wide, and I heard a voice.

**(Flashback)**

"Cover, cover." Umbra, my squad's recon soldier said. I looked over to her and saw there was a Brute about to turn the corner. I brought out my pistol and fired at it. The bullets barely did anything, and it turned to me, enraged. I brought my AR back out, and as it charged, I started firing. The bullets were slowing him down and broke his armour apart.

I grabbed my knife from my chest-plate, and leapt at him, stabbing it in the eye. It roared, throwing me off it violently. I landed on my back, and it put a foot on my chest, aiming its Plasma Rifle at me. I closed my eyes, awaiting my death.

**(Present)**

I felt a sting in my right leg and looked down to see pink Lock-down paint had hit it. I looked back up to see Texas, who was aiming their pistol at my head. As she fired, I leaned to the right, and forgot to load the pistol, and the gun made a click, but nothing else.

"Shit." I said, seeing York out of the corner of my eye. I kicked Texas' leg as hard as I could, but all that happened was a huge pain in my foot. I heard a pistol fire from my right, but it missed, and Texas was alerted to York's location. Texas shot me in the chest, and my armour locked up. It stung, but it wasn't any major pain. I watched as Texas and York showed their expertise in Gun-kata. They were both very skilled, but I had a feeling Texas would pull through.

Surely enough, she did, and she got York in the arm holding his weapon. He rolled towards me and grabbed my pistol from out of my hand.

"You're welcome." I joked through my gritted teeth. However, i knew he wouldn't respond, as he was too busy with Texas. They were fighting for so long, I felt my armour loosen up, and I could move again. I looked past York and Texas to see that Maine had peaked around the corner, with a grenade in his hand.

"Maine, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, as he threw it. Unfortunately, it missed them, and rolled towards me. I felt my armour lock up again and realised that Texas had shot me again.

"Oh, son of a bi-" My sentence was cut short by the grenade knocking me unconscious.

**(The Next Day)**

I woke up, and I looked around to see I was in the infirmary, in medical clothes. No-one was in with me, and I sighed. The door opened, and South walked in, in her normal clothes.

"Oh, you're up." She said.

"Yeah, how long was I out?" I asked, grunting as I sat up.

"A day." She said, and I shrugged.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked, and she growled.

"On a mission." She replied bitterly.

"Why aren't you going?" I asked again.

"Because of what happened at the oil platform, I wasn't picked to go. It's actually better without the others yelling at each other." She said, me responding with a nod.

"You like peace and quiet too?" I asked, and she nodded. I put on my armour but saw the helmet's visor was busted.

"Wait, did it hit my eye?" I asked, and South nodded again. I sighed and got up. I was going to have trouble seeing out of that eye from then onwards.

"Great, straight to processing." I said, grabbing it and going to the locker room. I looked to the board again and saw that Agent Texas was number 1. I wasn't surprised she was on the board, but I was surprised that she was number 1. However, I didn't take notice that I was number 2, and Carolina was number 3.

"Oh fuck." I said as soon as South walked in.

"Yeah, I'd stay away from Carolina if I were you." She said as I opened it my locker. I was shocked to see a weird face drawn on the wall. I pressed a button on my helmet, turning on a flashlight. I immediately threw the locker closed, and shook my head.

"You good Ark?" South asked, and I just nodded.

"Yeah, just tired." I said, and she scoffed.

"Fine, don't tell me." She said, her arms crossed.

"It's my eye, it's messing up." I said, louder, and she put her hands up.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." She said, and I sighed.

"It's okay." I said, closing my locker, but not before putting a pristine helmet on. I threw my busted one in the processing bin and turned to see everyone else walk in.

"How's it going?" I asked, and they all just walked past me, and I shrugged.

"Jesus, who died?" I asked again, and Carolina whipped around, and started walking towards me.

"No-one died, it's just that Maine got shot seven times in the throat point blank." She said, getting right up in my face.

"I'm sorry, I di-" I was going to say, but Carolina stopped me.

"Do me a favour, before you say anything to anyone on this team again. Get your jokey, manic depressive, " She yelled. I was about to say something, but she growled. I nodded, turning and leaving.

"Carolina, that was a bit uncalled for, he had no idea." I vaguely heard York say. I went to my room, and flopped onto the bed, listening to the hum of the ship. I could feel a pressure on my chest, and then I swore I could hear a gunshot.

**(Flashback)**

I opened my eyes to see that Umbra had leapt onto the Brutes back and reloaded my pistol. I cocked it, aiming at the Brute's head, but Umbra was in the way.

"Do it, shoot him." She said. Instead, I shot the Brute in the leg, and they roared again, throwing Umbra into a wall. I then fired at the Brute's head, the bullet penetrating his dome instantly. I ran over to Umbra, who was getting back up.

"You alright?" I asked, and she scoffed.

"I got thrown at a fucking wall, I'm doing swell." She said, and I chuckled, turning back to where we were. I looked around the corner again, to see there were no Covies. I walked out, and over to Arron's lifeless body.

"Poor bastard." I said, grabbing his sniper, knowing he wouldn't want it to go to waste.

"Let's go Cappy." Umbra said, and I turned to her.

"Cappy, really?" I asked, and she chuckled.

"Come on, lighten up Darwin." She said, and I nodded.

"Alright." I replied, and I saw another pink light.

"Fuck get down." I said, leaping at Umbra.

**(Present)**

I woke up on the floor, face first. I groaned, getting up and leaving the room. Hardly anyone was walking around. I headed my way to the infirmary. I needed to see if Maine was okay. Even though I haven't talked with him that much, he's still a part of the same program. As I walked past the entrance to the training room, it opened, and Carolina walked out.

"Why are you here?" She asked, already angry.

"I was just going to the infirmary to check on Maine." I answered truthfully, and her stance changed from, "ready to push my shit in" to calm.

"Did you realise how much of a dickhead you were?" She asked again, and I could tell it was to get some reaction out of me.

"Yeah." I bluntly replied, continuing my way to the infirmary. I saw the hallways tiling had changed. Entering a door to my right, I saw Maine on a medical bed. I sat down on a chair next to him.

"Hey Maine, how're you doing?" I asked but knew I wouldn't get an answer. He wasn't moving at all, but his heart monitor was working at a normal pace.

"I know we haven't really talked to each other, but I can tell you're a good guy. Get better mate." I said, patting his arm and getting up. I looked to the door and saw York standing in the frame.

"Carolina really got to you?" He asked, and I shook my head, walking out the door, and he followed.

"No, I just don't want my head to pivot 180 degrees." I said, and he chuckled, nodding.

"That's fair." He replied. I sighed, and we made our way to the cafeteria.

**Have you noticed the chapter titles are named after songs, and they have correlation to the theme of the chapter? The next chapter is called Fragments, and I think you know what that one's going to be about.**


	4. Spinoff Chapter: Jingle Bells

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN RED VS BLUE OR ITS CHARACTERS, IT'S OWNED BY ROOSTER TEETH. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS MY OC, AGENT ARKANSAS.**

**Speaking of side-stories, hears a little idea I had halfway through the next chapter. It's been done to death, but I might do a little Christmas chapter.**

It's that time of year again, the time of loving, giving and receiving. Everyone spent this time each year by loving, giving and receiving. Now, while this time was all about loving, giving and receiving, there is only one Agent in Project Freelancer who doesn't enjoy, loving, giving…...and receiving.

Anyway, this Agent is oh but Carolina, who doesn't have a big as Christmas spirit as the rest of the Agents. I noticed this as when York and Wash were setting up a Christmas tree in the cafeteria, Carolina purposely nudged Wash, causing him to fall and have York try and hold up a falling Christmas tree, eventually dropping it on Wash.

I looked over and sighed as Carolina walked off. I looked to North and got up.

"Wish me luck." I said, and he chuckled.

"I don't think luck is what you'll be needing if you can actually look up your own ass after this." He said, and I laughed.

"Wish me at least breathing, even if it is through a tube." I said, walking to where I knew Carolina would be, in the training room. The door opened, and she was absolutely destroying the green circles, no doubt thinking they were Santa's elves. It was after ten minutes she finally turned around and saw me, and as soon as she did, she growled in a disgusted tone.

"What do you want Ark?" She asked, and I chuckled.

"You really didn't think I saw you do that?" I asked her, and she froze for a split second. It was very fast, but I still caught on to it.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said, and I sighed.

"I know, but I do." I said.

"Alright, let's talk. My mom went to fight in The Great War on Christmas, and she didn't come back. So, I'm not the greatest with Christmas okay, is that what you wanted." She said, wanting to get the conversation over with. I sighed and walked to her.

"We've all lost someone in our lives, and while you may warrant a hate towards that particular day, it doesn't mean you have the right to humiliate others." I said, and she looked down, sighing.

"I guess you're right." She said, and I looked at her confused.

"I am?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah, I've been a bit of a bitch lately. It's just the whole Texas thing, and then Christmas, I'm sorry." She said, and I was still shocked.

"What?" She asked, and I got out of my trance.

"Nothing, I just didn't expect that response." I said, and she chuckled.

"There's lots you don't know about me." She said, walking past me.

"I could say the same." I said under my breath, and she turned around.

"What?" She asked, and I quickly thought of something.

"I'm slowly going insane." I said, and she just shook her head. I shook my head as well, but in confusion.

"Where did that come from?" I asked myself, soon following Carolina. I made a quick detour to my room for something special.

**(North's POV)**

I saw Carolina enter, and Ark wasn't behind her, so I panicked slightly.

"Where's Ark?" I asked, worried he was in the morgue instead of the infirmary.

"He was walking with me a second ago." She said as we walked to the main table, and I sighed in relief.

"So, what did he do?" Wash asked from behind me.

"He said that I shouldn't disrespect others on a special day, which is true." She replied, both Wash and I were stock still.

"Oh, come on, is it that weird for me to show some decency?" She asked.

"Yes." York said as he walked past her, carrying a box of Christmas ornaments.

"Oh, shut up." Carolina said, chuckling lightly, as did Wash and I.

"So, where, is Ark? Everyone else is here but him." Wash said, and we heard a whistle from the door into the cafeteria. We all turned to see… Oh god.

**(Ark's POV)**

I was in my armour, but with a Christmas outfit over it, a Christmas outfit that was classified as the "Entertainer's Package."

"What, in, the, fuck?" Carolina asked, and I tried holding in my laughter.

"Mrs. Claus is here boys." I said, in a very feminine voice. Everyone started snickering, and then it erupted into laughter. Some, not all, but some of that laughter came from Carolina.

"Ark, what goes on inside your head when you come up with this kind of shit?" Wash asked, and I shrugged.

"One of the voices in my head said, 'fuck it, why not?' Then I waste two hundred fucking dollars on a stripper's uniform." I said, causing another burst of laughter. I heard the door behind me open and turned to see, oh no.

"Merry Christmas Age-." It was The Director, with The Counsellor. He was speechless, but I kept it together.

"Ahem, Merry Christmas Director." I said, in the most serious voice I could. Everyone behind me was silent. Which means, 51 people – not including me – were silent in a room, waiting for The Director to flip out.

The best bit about that entire day, I made The Director laugh.

**Alright, I now have a word limit for these """"short"""" stories, 1000 words.**

**Alright, gotta blast.**


	5. Chapter 3: Fragments

"We're going for the main hangar, be ready for anything." Carolina said as everyone was getting their jetpacks on. North and South were joking with each other, and I was a little bit quieter than usual. I had been going to the infirmary for check-ups. It was for all the flashbacks that I've been having.

"You're pretty quiet too Ark, what's wrong?" South asked, and I looked up.

"Oh nothing, just preparing myself." I replied, and I saw C.T snap her head towards me. A missile hit the ship, rocking it.

"Opening rear bay." 479r said, doing as she said. I grabbed my weapons, a shotgun, a battle rifle, and two Magnums.

"Shit Ark, you're loaded to the teeth." Wash said, and I nodded.

"You've got to be prepared for every mission." I said, putting the shotgun behind my back and loading the battle rifle.

"Can you two ladies shut it, we're going to be flung at the main hangar." Carolina said, me responding with a nod.

"Affirm Captain boss man." I said, getting ready.

"Use your packs sparingly, course correction only. You don't want to end up like Georgia." She said, not even acknowledging what I said. I shuddered lightly from remembering Georgia's fate.

"Wait, what happened to Georgia?" Wash asked.

"Nobody knows, they never found him!" South answered.

"Are you sure these things are safe!?" He asked again, and no-one answered him. We got into our positions and felt the weight of the pelican shift as 479r pulled a handbrake turn. We were flung out of the pelican, the speed propelling us towards the main hangar. As we sped towards it, I started firing my battle rifle. Soon after, bullets and plasma bolts rained down upon thy bitchboys.

As we landed inside the hangar, a third of the enemy troops were dead. I had to clear the way for Wash to mess with the console. I took out three, then grabbed my shotgun from my back to shoot another behind me. After I heard my battle rifle click, I put it on my back, pumping the shotgun. I saw South was in trouble, so I whistled.

"South, catch." I said, lobbing the shotgun towards her. She caught it, and shot the enemies surrounding her. I smiled under my helmet and grabbed the two Magnums from my legs.

"Guys, things might get a little... floaty." Wash said, and I chuckled.

"The technical term for feeling weightless." I said, firing at the rest of the enemies. I had already enabled my grav boots. After Wash suggested it, I saw Carolina go all Morpheus style, using the zero G's to her advantage. I stood behind Wash, who ducked down, and a Warthog gently smacked me in the face, gently. I was knocked into a wall, sliding down it. I got up, stumbling lightly.

"Ark, get your ass over here." Carolina said, and I laughed.

"Yeah, just ignore the fact I GOT RKO'D BY A 3 TON ARMOURED VEHICLE!" I yelled, causing them to laugh. I scoffed, walking over to them. Seeing York divebomb into the hangar made me chuckle hard.

"The leader's out in Bone Valley, let's go." Carolina said, taking off, as did both South and I. After a few minutes, North, York, and Wash caught up. It was a little too quiet, but the silence was broken from the sound of a ship's engine spurring up. I looked to a pile of wreckage to see a ship called the, "Staff of Charon" emerge from the rubble. It immediately jumped to slip-space.

"Get out of there, they loaded that piece of junk with nukes." 479r said, her transmission very panicked.

"You've got to be kidding, everyone, full power." Carolina ordered, and we did so. I could see 479r pulling in, but not stopping so we could get as far away from the bomb as possible. I grabbed onto the cargo door and pulled myself into the back. Everyone else followed, except for Wash.

"What are you doing Wash? Use your jetpack." I said, slightly confused.

"I DON'T WANT TO END UP LIKE GEORGIA!" He screamed, and Carolina growled.

"Oh, for god's sake." She said, pulling out her grappling hook and shooting straight at Wash's codpiece. He started screaming as he was in a horizontal freefall. Carolina yanked him into the cargo bay. Once the door pulled up, we all braced for the coming explosion. I looked out of the little view window and saw a huge ball of energy course through the space in front of me.

The force of the explosion sent me into the wall near the front of the pelican. I got knocked out and my vision went black.

**(Flashback)**

"Thanks." Umbra said, brushing herself off. I had shot the Sniper Jackal, but I didn't know if I killed it.

"No worries, wait, where's the Doc?" I asked, referring to our medic.

"I think he bailed." She replied, and I sighed.

"I don't blame him to be honest." I said, reloading Arron's Rifle, and putting it on my back in place for a shotgun. I heard a click behind me and turned to see a Brute with a Mauler. I fired, but missed, and the Brute only got angrier. As they were about to fire, Umbra pulled me back, and took the full brunt of the shot.

"Argh, fuck." She grunted, firing at them. She killed the Brute, and as I got up, she fell to the ground.

"No." I said, grabbing her as she fell. Her chest was littered with tiny pellets.

**(Present)**

"Ark, wake up." North said, waving his hand in front of my face. I got up and shook my head, as I was feeling lightly dizzy.

"Yeah, fine, just hit my head." I said, and North chuckled in response. I looked around, and realised C.T wasn't with us.

"What happened to C.T?" I asked, and Carolina sighed.

"Turncoat, she didn't even go to the main hangar, just straight to their leader." She said, and I went stock still, shocked anyone would do this. It angered me, but I suppressed the anger. I heard the engines slowly come to a halt, and the cargo door opened. We walked out and went to the cafeteria for some lunch.

**(Meanwhile)**

The Director was standing in an observation room overlooking the hangar.

"It is a shame that Agent Connecticut is no longer a part of Project Freelancer. We shall have to move her AI and armour enhancement to another Agent." He said to the Counsellor, who was looking at his data pad.

"Who would that Agent be?" He asked, and The Director smiled.

"Agent Arkansas." He said.

"Will he still be implanted with his original AI?" The Counsellor asked, and the Director nodded.

"Affirmative, Agent Connecticut's AI and armour enhancement will be proceeded to Agent Arkansas." He replied.

**(El Timeo Skippo)**

Waking up, I put on my armor, walking towards the cafeteria for breakfast. Recently, North got an AI, named Theta. The amount of cuteness that can fit into that small of a being confuses me. The only thing I don't like about Theta is how innocent he is. My comedy style is mostly dark, and the only other jokes I know are dad jokes, which make everyone, even North want to punch me in the mouth.

As I walked down the corridors, I saw Agent Texas walking to the locker room, something she rarely does. I didn't bother her, because I didn't want to be turned into a pulp that morning. As I entered the cafeteria, I saw Theta appear in front of me.

"Hey Ark, how's it going?" He asked, and I smiled.

"Good, and you?" I asked back, and he nodded.

"I'm great, watch this." He said, making fireworks appear.

"Wow, that's cool." I said, complementing him.

"Thanks." He said, disappearing and reappearing next to North, who was eating his food.

"Hey North, any info on the next mission?" I asked, walking to the main counter. North finished chewing and started talking.

"Wyoming and Florida were sent on a scout mission. They're trying to locate C.T." He explained, and I nodded, grabbing a tray of food.

"Mmmm. Let's hope they find her." I said, placing the plate down on the space next to him.

"Have you gotten your armour ability yet?" Theta asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, it's a shockwave that throws people at least twenty feet into the air." I said, and he dropped his arms.

"That's so awesome!" He said, yelling like a cute and excited child.

**(Timeskip Numero Dos)**

The ships engines came back on just as we were about to crash into the ground. The cargo bay opened, and we all jumped out.

Wash, North and South went left, while Carolina, York and I went right. Carolina had blasted past me, firing at the insurrectionists with her plasma rifles. I was holding off quite a few, while York went to help Wash out. After my pistols clicked, I ejected the mags, and reloaded with the ones on my legs, not having to let go of them.

I saw Carolina was having trouble with a sniper squad. I put my guns away, climbing up the side of the complex and leaping in between all of them.

"How did he get up here?" The squad leader asked, and I tilted my head slightly.

"You didn't check your flank." I said, bringing my arms into a cross. My armour started to glow, and the soldiers aimed their weapons at me. As I threw my arms back out, a huge burst of energy threw them away. My armour felt very heavy, as the shockwave must have used up a lot of energy from it.

"Thanks for the help Ark, but I called in North's Hail Mary." Carolina said, and I saw a bubble shield spike fall towards me. As it was falling, I saw an Insurrectionist woman throw a knife at me. The bubble shield deployed at just the right time, chopping the blade in half. I was punched in the head by an Insurrectionist who was in the bubble shield. The punch sent me into the bubble wall, and I bounced to the floor.

"You didn't check your flank." They said mockingly as I got up, brought out one of my pistols, and shot them in the head, killing them instantly.

"Smartass." I said. The bubble shield fell, and the woman threw a knife at my pistol. Throwing the pistol to the ground, I ran to my left, going to help Carolina. I charged at the Insurrectionist attacking her, throwing both of us off the complex, falling to the hard ground. I rolled as I landed, getting up quickly to fight the Insurrectionist.

They threw a punch with their metal arm, which caught me off guard. I ducked out of the way of another punch, kicking him in the back which sent him tumbling away. I climbed back up to Carolina, who was taking care of the one with the knives. I leapt up onto the top and pulled out my knife from the sheathe on my chest plate. She kicked Carolina in the knee, then span around to kick her in the chin, sending her near the edge of the building.

Instead of finishing off Carolina, the woman threw her other knife at me, hitting me in the chest. I grunted in pain, pulling it out and charging at her. I threw her knife back at her, and as it landed in her knee, I threw mine at her as well, hitting her in the forehead.

"Pleasure meeting you." I said, walking up to her and grabbed my knife, kicking her away. I walked over to Carolina and brought my hand out to help her up. She pushed it away lightly, and I chuckled as she ran towards the main building. I followed her, and I entered a long walkway, with two machine gunners on the other side.

"Oh shit." I said as I rolled over to a pillar where Wyoming and Florida were. The latter had an axe through his chest. He got up though and crawled over to us.

"Florida, get up." I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back up. He took the axe out of his chest and looked fine.

"It's alright Ark, I've got a healing unit." He said and handed me the axe.

"What do I do with it?" I asked.

"I'd assume you throw it." Wyoming said.

"Shut it." I said, pointing at him.

"Just throw it at their feet, and I'll figure the rest out." Florida said, and I chuckled.

"That's my favourite way around a problem." I said, leaping out of cover and throwing the axe at the gunners. It flew and stuck right into one of their chain guns. Florida popped out from behind me and shot at a crane carrying a crate with the grenade launcher on his AR. It swung around, and crashed straight into them, sending them off the bridge. I heard a crunch and splat and ran to where Carolina went.

I saw her and Texas about to enter through a door, and loaded my BR, heading to Carolina's side.

"Alright, once the power goes out, we'll enter." Carolina said, and I just chuckled.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically, and she snapped her head towards me.

"I'm not in the mood Ark." She said, and I chuckled again. We entered the room and pointed our guns at C.T and the Insurrectionist leader.

"Prepare to be terminated." I joked, an axe flying straight into my chest piece, sending me out of the room. I felt the axe had broken the skin of my chest and grunted in pain.

"To be honest, I deserved that." I said to myself, grabbing the axe from my chest, and throwing it back into the room. It hit C.T in the chest, but it didn't enter her skin at all, it just hit her armour. Running back into the room, I saw Texas slam another axe into C.T, this time piercing her skin. I saw blood pour from her wound and watched as the Insurrectionist pulled her into a launch pod.

"Ark, are you ok?" Carolina asked, and I shook my head, my legs giving way for only a second, falling to the ground. Getting back up, I held my wound, hopefully stopping the bleeding. I felt two people pick me up and carry me. I sighed as my vision went blurry, and I heard a voice.

**(Flashback)**

"It's going to be okay Darwin." Umbra said, ripping out her dog tag, and giving it to me. I sobbed and held Umbra until she drew her last breath

"See you around Darwin." She said, her eyes glossing over, and I closed them. I laid there for hours, until I heard a Pelican fly down, and land not far from me. I ran to it, and after meeting up with the crew, we got Umbra and Aaron's bodies on board.

At least a week later, I was taken off active duty. I attended both funerals and went to their graves. At Aaron's grave, I placed his sniper down, after requesting it to be delivered. After that I went to Umbra's grave and placed her dog tags down. However, I took one last look at the dog tags, the UNSC logo etched into it, with her serial number, rank, and full name.

Allison Church...


	6. Epilogue: I Remember Now

"Ark, wake up." I heard a voice say, seemingly from all around me. My eyes shot open, and I saw I was in a medical bed. I looked around but saw no-one who could have spoken. There was no-one in the room, until…

"Hey." An orange glowing person in Freelancer armour appeared, scaring the shit out of me. I fell off the bed and felt a huge pain in the back of my neck.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry." They said, and I got up slowly.

"It's alright, just warn me when you literally appear from nowhere." I said, and they nodded.

"Duly noted." They replied, and I chuckled.

"So, who are you exactly?" I asked, realising their glow would pulse as they talked.

"My name is Xi, your new AI." They said, and I smiled.

"Cool. You enjoy the room?" I joked, and they shrugged.

"Little smaller than I'd thought." They said, making me laugh.

"Sorry, got a lot of stuff up here." I said, getting off the bed. I walked around the ship to the cafeteria. Walking in, I saw North, South, York and Wash sitting at the benches.

"Hey guys." I said, and all four of them snapped their heads towards me.

"Hey man, how are you feeling?" York asked, and I shrugged.

"Peachy." I said, chuckling. Walking over to them, I sat down next to York.

"Heard C.T got hit the same as you." South said, and I nodded.

"Yeah, the Innie leader took her into a pod and got out." I said, and saw Wash close his fist in the corner of my eye.

"You okay Wash?" I asked, and he sighed, calming down.

"I'm still in disbelief that she committed treason." He said, to which I sighed.

"Is this a bad time to introduce myself?" Xi asked, and everyone looked at them.

"They gave you an AI." North said, and I nodded.

"Yeah, and so far, they haven't said words longer than twenty-eight syllables yet." I joked, and Delta popped up.

"Agent Arkansas, the longest word in terms of syllable count, being pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, only has 19 syllables, so there is no wa-" Delta started, before York closed him down.

"Sorry about that." He said, and North raised his hand slightly.

"Don't be, I would've snapped my own neck if he kept going." He said, and I chuckled.

"Isn't he still talking in your head York?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, but who needs mental health anyway?" He joked, making everyone laugh.

"So, anyway, Xi, are you female?" Wash asked, and Xi turned to him.

"AI don't really have genders, but my dimensions and voice do fit the criteria of a female." They said, and he nodded.

"Just asking, because I didn't understand how it worked." He said, and I shrugged.

"You'll get yours soon enough, same with you South." I said, causing her to growl and walk off.

"Someone's peachy." I said, and York turned to me.

"She wasn't given an AI, along with Wash." He said, and I looked at him.

"Why?" I asked, and then the door opened to Carolina.

"How're you feeling 'Lina?" York asked, and she growled, walking to us. Her movements were different, as in she would twitch occasionally.

"I'm fine, how're you Ark?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Pretty good, got my AI." I replied, to which she nodded.

"That's cool. I'm gonna go train." She said, and we all watched her hobble out.

"Is she ok?" I asked, and York started talking again.

"She's got two AI." He said, and I jumped back in shock.

"Why?" I asked, and the door opened again, this time to Texas.

"What are you doing here?" North asked, and she just walked up to me.

"Ark, I need to speak to you for a moment." She said, and I nodded.

"Yes, Mrs. Couldkillmeintwosecondsflat." I said, making the others laugh. Getting up, I followed her out. She walked through the ship, and into the study room.

"So, what did you need me for Texas?" I asked, and she sighed.

"My name isn't Texas." She said, and I nodded.

"I know, my name isn't Arkansas either, I thought that was easy to tell." I said, and she turned around, taking off her helmet.

"It's me, Allison." She said, and I froze for at least a minute. As soon as the minute was up, I was about to run out of the room.

"Darwin, wait." I heard, and turned around, realising I wasn't hallucinating.

"You can't be, you died in my arms." I said, and she nodded.

"Yes, I did, but I'm not even human anymore, I'm, an AI." She said, to which I felt my legs wobble.

"Who created you?" I asked, and she sighed again.

"The Director." She said, and I fell to my knees. Taking off my helmet, I tried to breathe.

"Why?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"To bring me back. However, I want to stop what he's doing, with Project Freelancer, with the missions, with the AI's." She said, and Xi appeared.

"Thanks." She said, her arms crossed.

"You got one?" Allison asked, and I nodded.

"Yesterday." I said, and she sighed.

"I'll have one exception. However, the other AI will need to go." She said, and I sighed back.

"Okay."

**(Three Days Later)**

"York, you nearly done?" Allison asked.

"I'm workin' on it." He replied.

"You sure? Because you've taken twenty seconds longer than any of your previous hacking attempts." Xi said, and I looked towards York.

"Can you tell me how many of those succeeded?" He asked back.

"I did say attempt's, didn't I?" She said, making me laugh.

"Good one." I said, readying my weapons.

"Alright, ready to breach in 3."

"2."

"1."

"BREACH!"

**(Meanwhile, in Ark's head)**

"I don't understand." Xi said, and a sporadic laugh filled the space that was Ark's mind.

"Don't ask questions, just go with the flow." A blindingly white figure replied, disappearing and reappearing with seemingly no telling where they're going to appear next. Before this figure could disappear again, Xi grabbed them by the neck.

"Who are you? I've never seen you in here, or anywhere before." She said, and they started laughing.

"Trying so hard to forget a brother?" They asked, making Xi's light dim.

"No, that's not true."

"You better believe it baby, I'm Upsilon, I'm one of you, and for this whole time, I've been infecting Ark's brain while your back has been turned. You might want to watch out next time he's alone! Hehehehahahahahahahah!" They started laughing, and then disappearing into smoke.

**(A/N picture Upsilon being voiced by Mark Hamill's Joker. Video for reference, /lb8fWUUXeKM?t=184)**

**(Back to reality)**

"Xi, what's going on?" I asked, and then Xi finally appeared.

"Nothing, just preoccupied." She replied.

"It's okay, you ready for the shockwave?" I asked, and she smiled.

"Yes please." She said, disappearing.

"Alright charge it up." I said, leaping out from cover. As I shot at a few marines, I felt my suit charging up. As I got into the middle of a large group, I heard something in my head.

"Let go Ark, kill them all." It confused me, so much I didn't pay attention to Xi telling me to use the shockwave. I felt a blinding pain in my leg, and then buckled.

"Ark, use the shockwave, NOW!" Xi yelled, and I brought my arms in, then threw them out, a sonic boom throwing the marines away from me.

"Are you okay Ark?" Xi asked, and I nodded.

"I'm fine, run the healing unit." I said, and soon I felt a pump of something in my leg, most likely adrenaline. Running through corridors, I found Allison again.

"Long time no see." I said, and she chuckled.

"Alright, we need to get to the main terminal on the bridge." She said, and we heard a metal clunk. Turning to the source, we saw Carolina, and she was very pissed.

"Howdy." I said, and Carolina growled.

"Why are you doing this Ark?" She asked.

"You won't understand." I said, and she scoffed.

"So even you don't know why you're doing this." She said, mostly to herself.

"Let's just say C.T enlightened us." Allison said, and Carolina leaped at us.

"Never mention her again!" She yelled, nearly spear tackling Allison. I got in the way and kicked her back. As I did that, the gravity turned off. This sent Carolina down a hallway, and with no propulsion, she was sent all the way down.

"Alright Ark, let's go." Allison said, running off. I followed after, and we made our way to the bridge.

**(Timeskip)**

As we got there, everyone had been evacuated from the bridge. As Allison was about to plug into the main console, the doors behind us were kicked open, and Carolina burst through, kicking me into the viewing glass. I heard it crack lightly and smirked under my helmet. Xi appeared, with her arms crossed.

"I know what you're thinking, and it's crazy." She said, and I chuckled.

"Is that bad?" I asked, and she smiled.

"No, because unfortunately for us both, I like crazy." She said, and I pushed off the glass, and went to help Allison. I punched Carolina and got the attention. All I had to do was dodge her attacks.

"Carolina, you don't know who I am do you?" I asked, and she growled.

"I've wanted to know since I first saw you." She said, and I sighed.

"Well, I'm Darwin Walker, I served with your mother Allison." I said, and her entire body went stiff.

"YOU!" She screamed, winding up a huge punch, which I hoped for. Dodging it, she flew into the glass, and it broke, Carolina going through it. I braced next to the main console. The sound of crashing and metal snapping filled my ears.

**(Very slight Timeskip)**

As the noise stopped, I got up, and saw Allison's head hunched over, kneeling.

"Is he…" I started, but her nod said it all.

"He's resting now." She said. I sighed and walked to the Carolina shaped hole in the glass. Breaking through, I saw Maine holding Carolina by the neck, holding her over a cliff. I sprinted after Maine and heard running behind me as well. However, I didn't get there in time, as Carolina was thrown off the cliff.

"NO!" I screamed, as did Allison behind me. This alerted Maine, and he turned around, pulling out his Brute Shot. As he walked over to us, Sigma appeared.

"Agent Arkansas, surrender your AI, and we will let you go." He said, and I looked to Allison. She nodded, and Xi appeared.

"What, what are you doing?" She asked, and I sighed.

"Trust me Xi." I said to her, and she looked at me with shock clearly present in her body language.

"No, I won't let you, don't do this." She said, her voice raising.

"I'm sorry Xi, I need to do this." I said, taking my helmet off, and then grabbing my AI unit, pulling hard. It hurt like hell, physically and emotionally. The unit disconnected, and I felt a blinding pain. Powering through it, while also clenching my fist as hard as I could, I walked to Maine, and gave him the unit. He connected it to himself, and he started spasming. I turned, nodded to Allison, and ran with her.

**(Timeskip)**

After a long while of running, we stopped at a cave to catch our much-needed breath. As we got in, I flopped onto the ground, making Allison laugh.

"Tired?" She asked, and I chuckled.

"Only a little." I replied, sitting up.

"What does this remind you of?" She asked again, and I smiled.

"Reach." I said, taking off my helmet.

"Yeah, hiding while the surface of the planet is glassed, or hiding while a psychopath tries to skin you alive." She said, making me laugh.

"Same thing, right?" I joked, sighing. I chuckled and knocked my fist against my head.

"You can come out now Xi." I said, and she appeared, much to Allison's shock.

"You know I hate you for doing that?" Xi asked, her arms crossed.

"I thought you said you liked crazy?" I asked back, to which she huffed.

"To an extent." She replied. I looked to Allison, who was just staring at me.

"Oh, right, that wasn't Xi I handed to Maine, that was Upsilon." I said, and she still stared at me.

"I'll explain later." I said, and she shook her head in confusion.

"I really don't care that much; I'm getting some rest." She said, and it was my turn to be confused.

"You're an AI, you can't rest." I said, and she sighed.

"I don't want to go into the details." She said back.

"If you want to go, just say so, I won't stop you." I said, making her head drop.

"Sorry, just thought you wanted me around." She said, and I smiled.

"I do, but throughout these five years since that day, you've always been around, up here." I said, tapping my head.

"That traumatic? You seem fine to me." She said, and I shook my head.

"No, I just never said goodbye." I said, and she laughed.

"You dick, you're gonna make an AI cry." She said, sniffling. I got up and walked over to her.

"Well, prepare for some more tears." I said, hugging her.

"Thank you, Ark." She said, and I chuckled.

"Will the Director replace you with another Texas?" I asked, and she nodded.

"He's been trying years to perfect me." She said, walking to the edge of the cave.

"Well, at least they won't be in the middle of nowhere." I said, making her chuckle herself.

"You sure, the Alpha was compromised, they're going to be removed and put in a remote area." She said, and I sighed.

"Here's hoping." I said, lying down, and watching her leave.

"See you around Darwin." She said, and I chuckled, as the last thing this AI Allison said to me, was the last thing the real Allison said to me…

**(Timeskip)**

"And that is my story." Ark said, as the dozens of New Republic soldiers stared in awe. They started clapping, and Ark jokingly bowed. He donned new white and blue Scout armour, courtesy of the New Republic.

"Thank you for sharing that story with us Ark, sorry, Darwin." A soldier said, and Ark smiled.

"You're welcome, any questions?" He asked, and most of the soldiers put their hands up.

"Yes, you Bitters." Ark pointed out, and he stepped forward slightly.

"Did you know Upsilon was in your head?" He asked, and Ark nodded.

"Yes, I just assumed I wasn't crazy." He said, making the others chuckle.

"What happened to Xi?" Palomo asked, and Ark's eyes glazed over.

"She stayed behind." He said, and they stared at him blankly.

"What?" They asked.

"I'm sorry, I need to go." Ark said, exiting the group. Walking to a ledge that overlooked the rest of the forest, He sighed.

"If you jump, I'll lose thirty bucks." Ark heard from behind him. He chuckled and didn't turn around before answering.

"I guess you owe me then Felix." Ark said, and the man in question laughed.

"I'm fighting for the New Republic, that's my debt paid for life." He said, and Ark shook his head, chuckling.

"Fine." He replied, turning to him.

"You know, I heard a group of simulation troopers took down Project Freelancer." Felix said, making Ark shrug.

"And?" He asked, crossing my arms.

"Apparently, they were aided by a freelancer, named Carolina." Felix replied, and Ark stepped back, his foot slipping on the edge of the cliff. Just as he was about to fall, Felix grabbed him by the collar of his armour. There was a moment where they stared at each other, before Felix pulled Ark back up.

"Now, you owe me." Felix said, and Ark chuckled.

"Fine, I'll give you free rain for my Warthog." He said, and Felix nodded.

"Done." He said.

**Done. This story is finished, but it will continue. I finally got to Chorus, and the next story will be from third person. **


End file.
